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Legacy Wishes Honored Through Fairfield County’s Community Foundation

NORWALK, CT -- The Julia Wasserman Animal Welfare Fund, in partnership with Fairfield County’s Community Foundation, has selected noteworthy local organizations as recipients of its inaugural gifts totaling $110,000. Julia Wasserman, a resident of Newtown, Connecticut, was a Connecticut lawmaker who until her passing in 2015 worked with boundless energy and heart to serve others.

In particular, Ms. Wasserman had a deep respect for the holistic view of caring for animal populations. The grants to organizations in Julia’s neighborhood reflect her passion for protecting animals and their habitat. The grantees include Boots and Buddies; Connecticut 4-H Foundation; Danbury Animal Welfare Society; Newtown Forest Association; and Wildlife in Crisis. Her donor advised fund at Fairfield County’s Community Foundation was established so that her passion for giving back would be carried on forever with specific direction to include support for organizations concerned with and doing positive work for local animal causes.

The beneficiaries of this generous bequest were selected by the Wasserman family with input from Fairfield County’s Community Foundation to honor Ms. Wasserman’s values and fulfill her legacy. These charities share a mission of protecting animals, their health and their environments, in addition to incorporating benefits to people to foster social skills and a sense of responsibility to the world around us.

“It was so rewarding to help the stewards of Julia’s legacy, who were intent on finding the best way to perpetuate her philanthropy, create a fund at Fairfield County’s Community Foundation and utilize our philanthropic services to accomplish her wishes,” states Nancy Tartaglia, Director, Gift Planning & Philanthropic Services, Fairfield County’s Community Foundation. “Philanthropy can be amplified for many generations when a donor advised fund sets parameters for you to give back in ways that are important and significant to you and your family,” she continues.

Currently, there are approximately 600 donor advised, scholarship and other charitable funds, like the Julia Wasserman Animal Welfare Fund, managed by Fairfield County’s Community Foundation totaling an estimated $220 million in assets. Some of these funds have specific directions, while others utilize the expertise of the Community Foundation’s team of knowledgeable and experienced grantmakers to advise and guide individuals, families and advisors to align their charitable interests to causes and nonprofit organizations in Fairfield County and beyond.

For further information about Fairfield County’s Community Foundation and how to take the first steps in setting up a donor advised, scholarship or other charitable fund go to www.fccfoundation.org or contact Kristy Jelenik, Vice President of Development, Fairfield County’s Community Foundation at (203) 750-3211 or kjelenik@fccfoundation.org.

About Fairfield County’s Community Foundation
Fairfield County’s Community Foundation promotes philanthropy as a means to create change in Fairfield County, focusing on innovative and collaborative solutions to critical issues impacting the community. Individuals, families, corporations and organizations can establish charitable funds or contribute to existing funds. The Community Foundation is in compliance with the Council on Foundations’ national standards and has awarded over $220 million in grants to nonprofits in Fairfield County and beyond. As a trusted nonprofit partner and thought leader, Fairfield County’s Community Foundation brings together community organizers, business experts and philanthropists to close the opportunity gap. Our goal is to create a vital and inclusive community, where every individual has the opportunity to thrive.